


Are you ready for this?

by jackjones47



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Happy Ending, Let's go domestic, Unplanned Pregnancy, alternative ending, season five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-06-09 10:39:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6902518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackjones47/pseuds/jackjones47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If the authors are trustworthy, the end of POI will be a bloodbath, and some of our beloved characters are bound to die.<br/>So I tried to build my own alternative, happy ending, to keep my spirits up.<br/>You are welcome to share my view.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a native English speaker, sorry for the mistakes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaw is rescued by Claire Mahoney.

\- Present time -

Sameen Shaw was lying on a coat in her cell of this Samaritan facility, the tenth building of its kind she had seen so far, or maybe the eleventh, she wasn't sure.  
What she knew for sure was that the Machine and her team (yes, it was still her team) had not given up the fight; heavily outnumbered, with little resources of any kind except for their skills and their bravery, they kept fighting.

Sameen was proud of them, and for this very reason she would never ever betray them; especially Root, whom Sameen missed more than she would admit.  
And consequently, she was more than willing to undergo any kind of torture they could perform on her. She didn't break so far, and she will never break.

She was lost in her thoughts, when the door was opened and her gaze met the smug smirk of the most annoying old man she had ever known: John Greer, flanked by two of his goons, stepped inside the cell.

"How are you doing, my dear Sameen, has the breakfast been up to your expectations?"

"Fuck you, old Brit, even if it was, the sight of you could make me throw it up!"

Greer's smile widened, but he suddenly froze when two muffled shots were heard, and the goons went down with bullets in their heads; Greer turned round abruptly, only to meet a third bullet between his eyes.

On the threshold a very upset Claire Mahoney was standing, a smoking gun in her hand; she suddenly addressed Shaw: "Hurry up, we have to leave, now! With what's about to happen, they will be very angry at both of us!"

Shaw thought for a fraction of a second this could be some sort of trap, but Greer was very, very dead, so she complied. Claire handcuffed her, keeping the gun pointed to Shaw's head, and they went for the exit. Everyone who met them didn't try to stop them, so they reached a big door, then a parking lot, then Claire's car. They got inside, then Claire removed Shaw's handcuffs, gave her a gun and started the engine.

The same moment two operatives run out the compound and began to shoot at their car, but Shaw shot back, aiming center mass, and their lifeless bodies fell to the ground; they couldn't expect any niceties from her after all she had been through, after all.

"They have found Greer's body, we need to hurry" said Shaw excitedly.

"I know what I have to do, I have planned this for months."

Shaw said nothing for the rest of the journey, which was oddly complicated, with turns and lots of side streets, and ended after half an hour in a forlorn garage with a rusty shutter.

After the car and the two women were inside, and the shutter well locked, Shaw asked: "Now what? There is no other exit from here; are we waiting the night?"

Claire didn't answer, but went to a small locker and clicked a button on its left side, and it glided on a rail, revealing a trapdoor, which she opened.

They entered, and soon a metallic noise was heard, meaning probably that the locker had returned to its place.

They went down a ladder, then a long underground passage leading to a smaller garage with another locker and a motorcycle, with two helmets on it. Claire opened the armchair and told Shaw they needed to change clothes. They did, then they put on leather jackets, and they prepared to leave that place.

But this time Claire asked Shaw to drive and to let her be the passenger: "I have made it so far, and I am positive they have lost our track. But from now on, it's up to you. If you know a safe place, that's good; otherwise, we're screwed."

"I have a safe place, but I am not sure I can trust you yet ... and I cannot risk my friends' lives"

"Damned, Shaw, you did see me kill Greer, didn't you?"

"I did, but Greer was not you real boss, was he? ... Your boss was, or maybe still is, Samaritan, and your A.I. is ruthless enough to have its human agent in charge killed, if this could serve its purposes ... namely to get its hands on the Machine and my team ... and you haven't explained why you helped me, yet."

Claire sighed "I have changed my mind, for real this time, because I have discovered what Samaritan did to pursue its aims, the bombs in the court building, the Correction ... this is not what I wanted ... "

"Well, it took a lot of time to change your mind. What happened?"

"I ... I am not ready to talk about this yet; okay, now listen what we are going to do: you go to meet your friends, and I stay here; use the bike if you want, or walk if you think it's bugged or it has a tracker; you will tell them everything that happened, and if this doesn't convince them you can let me rot here, or come here and kill me ... sounds good for you?"

"Okay, I take the bike, I won't keep you waiting too long ... either way."

Shaw rode the bike until she came half a mile away from the subway lair, then she began to walk, trying to stay within the shadow zone.

 

The same moment, a very excited Harold Finch was staring at the monitors in the wagon of the abandoned subway station. "We are winning, John, the Machine is winning! She has completely taken over Samaritan: Her brain is using its hardware, and She has already ordered its operatives to drop their weapons and submit to the authorities; a small part of them are not complaining, though, so the Machine is expecting three or four more days of trouble; but basically, we won!"

John Reese was standing behind him, his joy showing in a quieter way; he opened his mouth to say something, when he heard the sound of footsteps, and turned round with a gun in his hand, "Shaw?" he whispered in disbelief.

Sameen Shaw stepped forward hurriedly "Reese, Finch, glad to see you again; sorry, no time for explanations, we have a pressing matter, though I get that something big is going on here." Then, after a moment, she said: "Claire Mahoney helped me escape, but I was not sure if I could trust her, so I left her elsewhere."

Harold Finch was stunned, maybe because he was looking at someone he had considered dead, but he managed to ask with a shaken voice: "You left her in a small garage with a bike?"

"I don't know how you are aware of that place, but yes, and now she is waiting for us there, and she could be attacked by Samaritan as we speak."

John and Harold were smiling now, the latter telling the former: "Go with miss Shaw, John, and save Claire, though I think the danger has considerably subsided, given Samaritan's present predicament."

While the Mayhem Twins were leaving the lair, Shaw asked Reese: "I know there will be time to explain later, but I didn't see Root; is she okay?"

Reese couldn't help to notice a tinge of worry in Shaw's tone "She is okay, Shaw."

"Ah, well, not that I really care, of course" A tinge of relief this time.

"Sure, Shaw." Replied Reese with a smirk.

As Finch had predicted, there was no real danger, and Claire was taken to a safe house nearby. A little girl opened the door, and Shaw was happy to see Genrika Zhirova, a girl she had helped long ago: Gen was elated too, and they chatted a lot.

Claire asked to go to bed, saying she had not slept in two days.  
After that, Shaw and Reese settled on the couch with Gen, waiting for Finch and Root, who were on their way.

Shaw, with a bottle of beer in her hand, turned to her partner in crime and asked: "So, you knew she was on our side, huh?"

"Of course, Shaw"

"So, she is definitely an ally now?"

"More than that, I think."

"You mean she's a friend?"

"She's more than a friend to us; she's family."

"Family?"

"Oh, didn't she tell you? She and Root are cousins; well, kind of."

"What???"


	2. Chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Root and Gen are saved by a Samaritan operative.

\- 167 days before -

"Can you hear me?"

"Of course, what can I do for you?"

The woman called Root listened carefully to the details provided to her by the Machine, via her cochlear implant, and answered: "I'll be there as soon as possible!"

There was a sense of urgency in Her voice, so Root drove fast, but when she reached her destination, the courtyard of a high-end school, she realized that it was too late: some men, whom she immediately recognized as Samaritan operatives, had punched a teacher in the face and were dragging a girl with long, curly blond hair into a black SUV; her first instinct would have been to shoot at them, but it was too risky for the kid, so she decided to stay unnoticed, and followed them.

After twenty minutes they stopped in front of an abandoned building in a forlorn zone of the city, drawing the girl inside with them; by now, Root could tell there were five of them, and two stopped just outside the door, mounting guard. Those will die first, thought Root.

Some minutes later, in a shaggy room inside the building, the man in charge of the operation, Ken Muller, explained to his two subordinates what the plan was "Now we call Lambert and tell him that we have the brat; he will find a way to let them know that; and by them, I mean the criminals who endorse the Machine, of course. And when they are here, six of our best snipers will be ready to welcome them."

One of the men, the youngest one, replied "Well, if we are the good guys, and their are the criminals, why have we just kidnapped a young girl? It doesn't sound like we are on the right side of the law, does it?"

"Damned, Jensen, you and your fucking morality; what Samaritan needs is getting the job done .. so shut up ... you are not untouchable for Samaritan, you know."

"Yeah, about that, are we untouchable for the police too? The girl saw our faces."

"Well, Jensen, you are quite naive, aren't you?" Muller and the other man, a sex offender named Chuck Bolton, were sporting a knowing smirk; the meaning was clear: the girl was not supposed to leave the building alive. The young man shuddered.

Root was in the corridor, approaching slowly the room where the voice were coming from; in her hands she was holding two guns, both with silencer, that she had used two minutes ago to kill the two guards; normally, she would have shot their kneecaps, but she couldn't risk leaving them alive so they could call their buddies and warn them; besides, she had a felling she could know who the little girl was: the Russian "mini spy" Sameen had rescued years ago. And now she was angry, surely not inclined to forgive those bastards.

The door was open, and she could hear their words. Interesting, it looked like there was an argument going on; this could help her to sneak up on them.

She tried to understand what was being said, but doing so she had a moment of inattention and trampled on some rubble, making a weak but audible noise. 

Suddenly Muller grabbed the girl and pointed a gun to her head, yelling "Who's there?"

Root pondered the situation; she could try to take them, given that she had an advantage, being in a dark corridor while they were in a well lit room, but there were no chances to save the girl; Gen, if she remembered right.

"Put your gun down and get here, or I kill her!", Muller yelled again.

Root saw the girl's eyes, wet with tears and frightened, and realized she had lost the battle. "I'm coming, let her go!"

She made some steps forward, approaching the threshold, then getting inside the room.

"Let her go, I said!"

"You have no leverage, bitch, so no bargain with you: you both die, now" And he aimed his gun at Root's heart.

Suddenly two shots were heard, and Muller and Bolton dropped to the floor, fatally shot.

The young agent was behind them, staring in disbelief at his own smoking gun. Gen screamed, horrified, and jumped toward Root, embracing her; Root gently stroked her, then she asked the agent: "Why?"

"I don't really know; maybe ... I think I have realized who were the criminals, and I didn't want to be a part of that."

"Okay; what now?"

"Now I am screwed, and you two should go, before other operatives come."

"Sorry, boy, I'm not letting you die after what happened."

"I cannot come with you, Groves!"

Root couldn't hide her surprise "Do you know who I am?"

"Does it matter? Take the girl to safety, I am already dead!"

"No way I leave you here, follow me, I know how to stay off Samaritan's radar."

Reluctantly, the young agent followed Root and Gen, until they reached a safe house about half a mile away.

 

After getting to the safe house, they entered and settled on the couch, but Gen was too shaken and tired, so Root gave her a mild relaxant and let her go to bed; after that she called Reese for backup, but he couldn’t come before another four hours; she turned to the agent, asking him: “What’s your name, boy?”

“Steve Jensen. I am from Ohio.”

“Well, Steve, it looks like we have some time to kill; maybe you could tell me something about your former boss … “

“You mean Greer?”

“Mmh … not really, Greer is another goon, only at a higher level … I was referring to Samaritan; but why don’t we begin with you telling me the reason why you joined a evil A.I.?”

“Ah, you know, a girl I care about, who by the way is my cousin, works there, and when I came to New York I paid her a visit and she helped me get a job; I was unemployed, so I took it.”

“A girl whose name is … “

“Claire … Claire Mahoney.”

Root froze, hearing the name; Steve noticed her reaction, and shrugged, “I know you two met; I even know you shot her … “

“And … are you comfortable with that?”

“Well, she is … she told me it was her fault, she was abducting Harold Finch. She’s not mad at you, I can assure. And I am beginning to think we could help each other.”

“What’s on your mind, Steve?”

“Claire is growing more and more doubtful about Samaritan’s aims, and I have to admit that the same is true for me. And now one more thing you need to know: I have less than two hours left to live.”

“What???”

“Our operatives are implanted with a chip close to the heart, which eight hours after activation starts to release electronic impulses that made the heart stop. They are activated when one goes to his first missions, and deactivated when he comes back without messing up, and before the time runs out; only when he has proved himself reliable our doctors remove the chip for good. But this was my first mission.”

“Good God, there must be a way to save you! Harold Finch is very good with electronics, he’ll help you!”

“I know for sure this is not an option; you need a code impossible to crack; I am dead.”

Root was staring at him in horror and disbelief “You sacrificed your own life to save mine, an enemy, and a little girl you didn’t even know … “

“I sacrificed my life to do the right thing. And if you don’t want this to be in vain, let’s have a talk about what we can do to stop Samaritan.”

It took them forty minutes to go through all the details of their plan. Then, Steve sighed “Well, looks like I have another hour on this earth.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Steve blushed and began to stammer “I .. I have … but … “

“Don’t be afraid, Steve, tell me anything … please!”

“Okay … I am twenty-two ... but I have never made love to a woman ... I always wanted to have this special moment with the right girl ... but I am afraid I will not have enough time … and you are so beautiful … but forget I asked … sorry.”

But Root smiled, got up and took his hand in her, with a sympathetic smile, and led him to the other bedroom. Steve was elated “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Root bonds with John and Gen

Root and Reese left Gen at the safe house with Finch, and they took Steve’s body to John’s SUV, then drove to a wooded patch not too far away from the city, and buried him there, making sure to be able to find the place when it would be possible to retrieve his body.

Root was deeply touched, and was silently weeping; she had held Steve’s hand until his last moment, and he had gone smiling at her and with a whispered “Thank you”. She never liked men, but this one was different, and she was happy that she had succeeded in giving him, albeit for a very short time, a bit of love.

After that, she and Reese headed back to New York. After some minutes of silence, Reese spoke, with a kind voice: “I have heard what happened, you know.”

“Oh … and, what have you heard, exactly?”

“A woman willing to sacrifice herself to help a girl, and the same woman giving herself to lighten up a dying boy.”

“And did you hear the … details of my … giving myself?”

“I shut down comms before that.”

Root sighed “What’s the point of this little chat, John?”

“You know, I hated you once … “

“Yeah, I wasn’t fond of you either.”

“ … but this is not accurate. More exactly, I hated the woman you were.”

“And … “

“And … now I think she doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Oh … and who am I, then?”

“A much better one, of course; maybe ... a friend.”

Root was speechless “Really, John?”

“Really, Samantha.”

A long silence ensued, then a kind and deeply felt reply came: ”Okay, John ... thank you.” Then, after a moment: "You know, when I saw Gen in the hands of those agents, she was terrified ... she reminded me of Hanna ... no way I was leaving her in their hands."

"You have had your fair share of suffering in your life, no doubt about that."

"I think we all have." Replied Root.

"Maybe that's what made of us a family of sorts, don't you think?" Reese was smiling now.

"A family ... yes, something I have never had ... until now; Harold, you, Bear, and Lionel, of course."

"And Shaw ... we'll find her, I promise." And his face was so serious that, for a moment, Root really believed in what he had said.

 

When back to the city, they decided that Gen couldn't take the risk of being spotted by cameras, so the little girl had to live in the safe house, and Root volunteered to take care of her.

The second day, after dinner, they were sitting on the couch and Gen spoke of Shaw.

"I think she loves you, you know ... "

"Oh ... what makes you say that?"

"She doesn't feel things like anyone else, but when she told me about you, pretending to be annoyed, I felt how fond she was of you; I mean, she said bad things about you, but not really so bad, but with a ... a softness that indicated the opposite ... I can't explain better, but you know, we spies are very perceptive, so I don't need to explain that thoroughly ... whatever."

"Thank you, Gen, you are adorable."

"So are you ... I ... I feel at home with you. You know, I have never had a family ... "

Gen was stuttering, and Root was touched, so she hugged Gen "I like you a lot, kid ... but would you be comfortable with that ... two women together?"

"You both are very cool, you both saved my life, so yes, absolutely yes!"

Root was grinning like an idiot, and thought: "God, I am surrounded by people I like, maybe my life is not too bad, after all."


	4. Chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Machine enlists Claire Mahoney

\- 167 days before -

Five days after Gen's kidnapping, in a cold morning, Claire Mahoney was running in Central Park, when another jogger, who had been some yards behind for a couple of minutes, joined her and asked: "Do you mind if I go with you?"

Claire examined her potential companion: a good-looking black woman in her late twenties, and shrugged "Why not?"

After a while, the other woman gave her a piece of paper, with something written on it: "This is a camera-free zone. Do you have anything on you that Samaritan can use to hear us?"

Claire turned pale, then nodded. The black woman gave her another piece of paper, and suddenly began to speed up, leaving Claire behind. She hid the message in an internal pocket, and headed to the nearest exit.

In her room, she read it. "Hi, Claire, I am not sure you are willing to read this, since I am the woman who shot you in a shoulder. But Steve said you are beginning to see the light, how evil your A.I. is and what it has done to pursue its objectives, so I hope you will listen. I am telling you how Steve saved my life and how we planned to bring Samaritan down, with your help ... "

Root's message explained what happened the day they kidnapped Gen, and their (the word "their" meaning Steve's, too) plan to kill Samaritan: Claire should provide copies of some specific lines of code of Samaritan, give them to Finch, who would use them to write an aimed virus that could considerably hamper the evil A.I., and give the Machine a route to access the most sensitive part of Samaritan's code.

The virus was to be launched by Claire when Samaritan was at its weakest point, for example when a large number of its server farms were closed for maintenance or other reasons.

Then the Machine would attack, replacing Samaritan's core code with Her own.

The message explained also how to meet and where: a place which had to be within the shadow map; the problem of Samaritan forcing its operatives to keep their phones on was solved by using a copybook, where she and Root should alternatively write instead of speaking.

The place was a small bar in Chinatown, where they met the day after Claire had been contacted by the black woman (her name was Harper Rose, a new agent of the Machine).

Root was a bit nervous, because if Claire wasn't truly on their side it would have been a catastrophe: Root was sure she would be caught, so she had a gun which she intended to use to kill herself: no way she was going to be a prisoner of Samaritan. But when she saw Claire approaching her, and her shy smile, she felt relieved: she was good at judging people, and Claire looked sincere; And Steve, in his final minutes, had shown an absolute trust in her cousin.

In the following forty minutes, with a low-volume music playing to cover the pen's noise, they planned everything, even an escape route for Claire, garages and hidden passages included.

Root told Claire she cared a lot for a woman in the clutches of Samaritan, and asked her to help her escape too; Claire promised to do her best for Shaw.

About the attack on Samaritan, when Claire would realize it was the right time, she was going to jog with a red hat, and not the usual white one, so the Machine could tell Her human agents to cause mayhem in some other server farms, further weakening Samaritan.

Then, Claire would upload the virus, and She would strike!

 

\- 144 days before -

A couple of weeks later Root found out she was pregnant, and she told John and Harold.

"Miss Groves, in our present situation this might be a major hindrance, don't you think?"

Root snapped "What I think is that I have taken many lives so far, some of them innocent; and I won't take this one. Sure, my child has no number yet, but does it make him less worthy to be saved?"

"Of course not, I was not suggesting abortion, only that you should get some rest, and give up the work on the field ... " Finch blushed, and suddenly stopped when John put a hand on his shoulder.

"Harold, this is not for you to decide." Then, addressing Root: "Whatever it takes, I am with you."

"Thank you, John. Gen is a good girl, and she's really helpful, but for some issues I will need you, or Harper ... "

"Anytime."


	5. Chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaw realizes she's in love with Root, and now she has a difficult choice to make.

\- Present time -

John had just finished telling the story to an astounded Shaw, who was happy for the impending victory of the Machine, but a little disappointed too "Why can't we participate in this? I'd like to repay them for what they did to me!"

"The situation is handled by the authorities, Shaw. This must be made according to the law; you don't want to became a criminal right now, do you?"

After a moment, Shaw nodded, then asked, in a low voice: "Is she really okay, John?"

"Yes, but she missed you, more than we could imagine ... she loves you, but you already know that; a shame that you don't care about her, don't you think?"

"I ... I don't know if I am ready to talk about this ... but I lied, obviously ... I care for her ... a lot."

"Okay, and when she comes through that door, are you planning to tell her or not?"

"Playing Cupid, John?"

"She deserves to know; she is a much better person than one could ever expect, and now she's vulnerable."

"Sounds like she grew on you, huh?"

"I didn't like her, you know; and when I realized there was something between you and her, I thought it was a bad thing. But now I think you need each other. And you have to decide how you feel about her."

Shaw closed her eyes, as if trying to remember, then she spoke slowly: "Samaritan put me through thousands of simulations, to discover the location of the Machine. I never broke, but it was hard; I killed you in many of those simulations, even Finch in a few of them; I couldn't control myself. But when it was her turn ... I never killed, or hurt her, I couldn't ... so I did the only thing that could prevent me from doing that ... I killed myself ... thousands of times, to avoid killing her ... how do you call this, John?"

"This is love, and you know that."

Shaw sighed "Yes, I already knew, I think, but hearing it from another person makes it more obvious ... It looks like I am screwed ... I'll tell her, then ... "

"Okay ... but, out of curiosity, how did you know this one was not a simulation, when Claire saved you, I mean? ... you came to the subway hideout ... "

"I knew it was real. It's like in dreams, I suppose; in a dream, you think everything is real. But in reality, you know you are not in a dream."

They stopped chatting when they heard footsteps outside, then the door was opened, and Finch and Root entered.

 

The two women stared at each other for a long minute, then Root smiled, tears of happiness running ing down her cheeks, and they hugged. Shaw was stunned, she felt much more thrilled herself than she had ever thought. And she did something she never ever thought she could do: regardless of the boys being there (but now Finch was remarkably interested in his glasses, which he was polishing with a cloth, and Reese was staring at his watch, as if reading the time required more than a second), she kissed her softly, and whispered: "I love you."

"I love you too, Sameen."

 

Then the two men left, and Shaw told Root: "I missed you so much ... I want to make love, now ... please ... "

"You mean, you want to have sex?"

"No, I mean I want to make love, for the first time in my life, with the only person on this Earth who could steal my heart ... please, darling ... please!"

"You know I am pregnant, right? It has begun to show, my body is not exactly like you remember it ... "

"I don't care, I love YOU, I want to be with you for the rest of my life, okay? whether you are pregnant, or when you'll be old, or sick, or whatever you will be, I want you forever ... " Shaw was blushing, she couldn't believe what she had just said, but she was happy she had.

Root's eyes were shining with joy, her voice was hoarse "Okay, Sameen, let's go!"

"Wait, not this bedroom, Claire is sleeping there, let's use the other one."

"Claire is there, huh? We shouldn't be loud, then, I owe her so much, I don't want to wake her up."

 

They weren't loud at all, and they had the best time of their life by far. Shaw was only a bit afraid that Root's big tummy could cool her down, but the opposite happened; Root's body was gorgeous to her eyes, more than it had ever been, and she felt so aroused that she had five orgasms, while Root had only three. And any of those had nothing to do with all the orgasms she had had before, even with Root, when she was left sated and inclined to walk away; no, now she was sated and eager to stay, to kiss and be kissed, to look at her woman's wonderful eyes and radiant smile, to cuddle, to whisper sweet words of love, and to go for another round. "God, what happened, am I really this person? Yes, I am, and this is exactly what I want to be."

At last they were exhausted, and were lying in bed, hugging, and Shaw spoke, telling her woman what had happened in her eight months with Samaritan.  
She told her about the simulations, that she killed herself instead of killing her love. And then she told something she hadn't told Reese before: "We had sex in every one of them, but it slowly evolved ... I mean, the sex part was always the same, more or less ... rough and passionate ... but the aftermath wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"The first times, there was nothing after sex, so I left the bed; then I began to give you a quick kiss before leaving, then longer kisses, then there was some cuddling, more and more, then pillow talk, tender kisses ... oh God. By the last one I was smitten, I think."

"Wait, Sameen, are you saying that you fell in love with me thanks to Samaritan?" Root's tone was light, even cheerful.

But Shaw's words were serious: "No. I have been in love with you since long before the Stock Exchange ... only I coudn't realize that, or admit it to myself ... or maybe I was thinking that love is a weakness. But it's not true: love is strenght; I didn't betray you because I was in love, I know it now. It helped me not to break ... and those simulations didn't make me fall in love, they only made it clear and unambiguous; you know, it was like in dreams: your psychological barriers, your inhibitory impulses are lower than in reality."

Root kissed her again, softly, then asked: "How those simulations would have helped Greer to find the Machine?"

"If my mind went to the subway hideout, they would have known. There was some device reading my mind and translating brain impulses in images; there were videos of all that happened in those little trips of my mind."

"What?! Are there videos of us having sex, then?"

"I guess so; I don't know if they still exist; maybe someday we'll see them on You porn, who knows?"

Root chuckled: "The perfect revenge for Samaritan!"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind if the whole world sees the two of us in love ... I would only be proud."

"Sameen, I am the happiest person on this planet right now."

"No, only the second one; I am the first."

They kissed again, then Shaw asked: "I guess you'll take it easy for a while, given the circumstances ... your pregnancy, I mean."

"Not for a while, Sameen ... forever."

"What? Don't you want to shoot the bad guys anymore?"

"Exactly; I will be a mother, and I want to be there for my child when he needs me ... yes, it's a boy, and I'll call him Steve, like his father; so, no more violence in my life!"  
"Jesus ... well, okay, if this is what you want; shame, really, it would be fun to kick some Samaritan's asses."

"Samaritan is down, Sameen, and the world is safe; or maybe yours is a desire for revenge?"

"I'd say more a fair compensation; they didn't go easy on me, you know ... "

Root sighed "I know. But many of them are, or will soon be, in the hands of the authorities; if others are on the loose, what would you do, should you catch, or murder them? And will you feel better doing it? ... Listen, when they took you away from me, I wanted to kill all of them; and then one of them saved me and Gen, instead, sacrificing his own life. And Claire, whom I had shot, saved you!"

"Are you saying they are not the bad guys?"

"Good and bad are not always easy to tell, Sameen; better said, there is good and bad in everyone. And about me, with the life I've led, can I really tell of anyone, I am better than him, or her? I deserve to live, and he must die? I am sure many of those operatives are only people thinking they are doing the right thing to fix the world's woes; they don't know anything about the mass slaughters thier bosses have performed. If they broke the law, hopefully they will go to jail; but then again, I broke the law more times than the vast majority of them."

Shaw stayed silent for a while, then she spoke again: "You have changed, Root ... for the better, I suppose. Well, no more hunting them down, then. At least you will be helping Harold and John, and me of course, with saving the numbers, right?"

Root sighed "No, I won't; no more dangers in my life, nor in John and Harold's. The Machine agrees on that; we did our duty."

"What? And they agreed to stop saving people?"

"Someone else will do that; the Machine has already a list of people who will replace us; some former numbers, and other persons who want to help."

"And John and Harold ... "

"John will marry his girlfriend, Iris, and Harold will go to Italy the next month, to find Grace."

Shaw was baffled "Okay, then we'll see each other at the end of the workday, I guess."

"No, Sameen, you won't find me if you choose to stay on the line of fire ... sorry."

"What? You can't decide for me!"

"Of course I can't. But I will be a mother, and I want you to marry me and be a mother too ... for Steve junior and for Gen, I want to adopt her. And I don't want to stay awake at night with my child, waiting for you to come home, or for someone announcing me that you are hurt ... or worse. So, if you really love me, please, choose another job, a safer one, and try to be there when your wife and your son will need you."

"I ... I love you, Root, I swear ... but I don't know if I am ready for this kind of life ... "

"Let's try, then ... and another thing: my name is not Root anymore; call me Samantha. Or Sam ... Root was a killer ... "

"Jesus ... I need some fresh air; do you mind if I am on my own for a while, let's say a couple of hours?"

"Of course, love, you have a lot to assimilate, take your time!"

They kissed again, and in that moment Shaw knew she was doomed: there was nothing in this world that could make her give up this woman; she left the room nonetheless.


	6. Chapter six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaw decides she is ready for this.

Samantha was eating an apple in the kitchen, when she heard the door of the other bedroom opening. Claire was there, and when she saw Samantha she stepped ahead, asking: "Is everything okay? Samaritan ... "

"It's okay, Claire. Samaritan doesn't exist anymore, only some operatives scattered here and there ... we won ... you won."

Claire sighed, relieved "Thanks God; I hope I have paid my debt, now; for kidnapping Harold, I mean ... and I hope he has forgiven me."

"You saved the world, and gave me back the woman I love; so you have more than paid your debt, as I see it; about Harold, well, I kidnapped him twice, and he is my best friend now!"

Claire smiled "Well, then; now ... there is one more thing to settle, and not an easy one, unfortunately. To tell my uncle and aunt that their only son is dead, and give them his body; we can do that, can't we?"

"We can; I know exactly where it is buried, and with Samaritan out of commission we'll retrieve it easily."

"Good, because that body is the only thing that's left of Steve."

"Not the only one, Claire." Said Samantha touching her belly.

The younger woman had not realized Samantha was pregnant, because of her wide dressing gown, so she frowned, but suddenly understood and smiled "God, really? And are you keeping it?"

"Of course I am. And their grandparents will meet him, I promise ... by the way, it's a boy, and I'm calling him Steve."

Claire hugged her "Thank you ... you know, you are not like Greer had said you were ... ruthless, a remorseless killer."

"I was once; but I realized that meeting the right people changes who you are; I've changed, and I'll be a good mother, you could bet on it."

 

Meanwhile Sameen Shaw was in a public park half a mile away, sitting on a bench, and watching families with children, many of them with dogs too; they appeared happy, and she was wondering if she could stand a life like theirs, devoid of the adrenaline shots provided by her former job with the numbers.

She knew that leaving Root was not an option, so she had to figure out how to make this work; damned, not Root, Samantha, she had to accustom herself to this.

Of course, the Machine would help her get a job which could provide a moderate measure of excitement, if not violence, like hand-combat or martial arts instructor, something involving only a low level of danger. Probably Samantha would agree on that.

She was lost in her thoughts, when she saw Harold Finch and Bear, approaching her. The reunion with the Belgian Malinois was cheerful and affectionate, then after a while Finch sat down and they had a talk.

The man handed her an envelope: "It contains thirty-thousand dollars, you were an employee of mine when Samaritan was keeping you. And I am a wealthy man again."

"Thanks, Finch, I won't say no."

"I guess you will make the right decision about Miss Groves, Miss Shaw. My best wishes." Seconds later, he and Bear were gone.

She stood up and made her way to the safe house, when she spotted John Reese entering a jewellery's shop.

She immediately perked up and went after him: why would he possibly be there if not to prevent something bad from happening, like a robbery or a murder?

Inside, Reese was standing before a cabinet, that was full of any kind of rings. Shaw approached him from behind, whispering: ""Hello, Reese, who's the number? The jeweler?"

Reese smirked "No number, Shaw, I am here on my own."

"On your own ... as a detective, you mean?"

"Not at all; I only want to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend." So he took his phone out of his pocket and showed her Iris' photo.

Shaw was disappointed, she had hoped to have some action, but tried to be polite "Oh ... okay, she's cute; I see you like redheads. How long have you been together?"

"Actually, we broke up some time ago, but last week Root told me the Machine wanted to let us have a normal life, so we got back together again. Apparently, She was sure of winning, and luckily She was right."

"And now you are about to settle down, huh?"

"Maybe you can give me some advice; I was going to choose this one, with the red ruby; do you think it would suit her?"

"I am not an expert, but I like it."

"Okay, ruby it is then; I'll go and pay."

"John ... wait ... " Shaw was now visibly embarrassed and flushed "would you help me choose another one ... for Root?"

Reese was grinning now "You mean, for Samantha?"

"Yes, John, for Samantha."

 

Sameen Shaw and Samantha Groves were standing in the living-room of the safe house, the former thinking about a way to express what she has in her mind.

Samantha raised an eyebrow, interrogatively; so Sameen began to speak, with a slightly grumpy voice: "I get to choose what we watch on TV, most of the time; let's say, like five times every week, to say the least ... "

Samantha was grinning now; she knew she had won, and Sameen was to be hers forever.

" ... and you stop eating like a bird, and start to gulp down more proteins ... "

"Sure, Sameen."

"And we move elsewhere, this place is Harold's ... I have a say on our new home, of course, and I want a gym ... "

"Of course ... "

" ... and ... and we get a dog ... "

"Oh, yes ... "

" ... and anything else that will cross my mind!"

"Agreed on everything, Sameen ... and now, what do I get as a reward for my willingness?"

Sameen sighed; the moment had come. She approached her lover and drew a small box out of her pocket, then she opened it, revealing a golden ring with a black diamond; then she whispered: "Samantha Groves, will you marry me?"

She would never forget the happiness on Samantha's face. She was home, at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, please comment and let me know how I can get better.


End file.
